How exactly do you "study" a literary text? So you

see if sparknotes has an entry on the book, then look at the study guide questions. often times those questions are good to think about and prepare answers to in your head when looking forward to some sort of test on the book.

>>9494328
Close reading. How do you study a building? You still use the same initial tools (sight, presumably), you just do it deeper and with higher consideration.

But if you're asking in a literal way, then by asking a lot of 'why' and 'how' questions about the text. Why did the author use this word or sentence structure? How did the author accomplish this? etc.

>>9494333
I struggle with finding themes after I am done reading the text. I read up on the context, on the times and social background of the author but still questions often escape my understanding.

For example, having read King Lear recently, if someone had asked me what it was about, the best response I would be able to come up with would be something like:"It is about filial affection and betrayal"

>>9494333
Fucking Americans. Ignore sparknotes, its for 14 year olds.

OP, go to your library and read a book/online article on the text you've just read, follow the footnotes that sound interesting and read those. Repeat until you feel that you can adequately discuss the book.

>>9494343
I am not asking how to analyze the structure of the text. I am trying to become the guy who reads a text and is able to glean certain themes from it, and then write an essay on it.

Structural analyses is not something I am dealing with at the level where I am right now.

>>9494328
Read A Short Introduction to English Literature and A Short Introduction to Literary Criticism.

Those will point you in the right direction.

>>9494431
>not thinking about form

Might as well give up now anon